The most powerful MRI in the world, ready to unravel the mysteries of the human brain

Near Paris, the most powerful MRI in the world has delivered the first images of the human brain and is now ready to provide a better understanding of how it works and of certain neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases, reports the AFP agency, quoted by boursorama. com.

In 2021, researchers from the CEA (Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternative), located on the Saclay plateau (Essonne), chose to test the device on a pumpkin, before health authorities recently gave the green light for human subjects.

In recent months, around twenty healthy volunteers have entered the machine, which has revealed the first images of their brains.

“We have a level of finesse never before achieved at CEA,” says Alexandre Vignaud, physicist and director of research at CEA.

The magnetic field of this extraordinary magnet reaches 11.7 T (tesla), which allows obtaining images 10 times more accurate than those currently produced in hospitals, where the power of MRI machines does not exceed 3 tesla.

On Alexandre Vignaud’s screen, images of the brain are compared to those that would have been obtained with a 3 or 7 tesla MRI: “With this machine, we can see the very small vessels that supply the cerebral cortex or details of the cerebellum that were almost invisible until now “, he comments.

“The precision of these devices is hard to believe,” Research Minister Sylvie Retailleau told AFP. “This world first will allow us to better detect and treat brain pathologies.”

Iseult

The device, a 132-ton magnet housed in a cylinder 5 meters long and the same height, consisting of a coil carrying a current of 1,500 amperes, has an opening of 90 cm to accommodate a human body.

This technical breakthrough, the result of a Franco-German partnership, required over 20 years of research.

Called “Iseult,” the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanner is the star of Neurospin, CEA’s brain imaging research center, led by neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene.

Two competing projects, in the United States and South Korea, have similar ambitions but have not yet reached the crucial stage of imaging humans.

One of the purposes of this extraordinary MRI is to improve our understanding of the anatomy of the brain and the areas that are activated when certain tasks are performed.

Scientists already know that the different types of images we are able to recognize (a face, a place, a word, etc.) activate distinct regions of the cerebral cortex.

With the help of MRI at 11.7 T, “we will be able to better understand the relationship between the structure and cognitive functions of the brain, for example, when we read a book or do mental arithmetic”, says Nicolas Boulant, director of research at CEA and scientific leader of the project.

Early diagnosis

But it will also be about elucidating the mechanisms that act in neurodegenerative diseases (such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s) or in psychiatric disorders (depression, bipolarity, schizophrenia, etc.).

We know, for example, that one area in particular – the hippocampus – is involved in Alzheimer’s disease, so we hope to be able to understand the organization and functioning of cells in this part of the cerebral cortex,” explains Anne-Isabelle Etienvre, director of fundamental research at CEA.

The researchers also hope to be able to map the distribution of certain drugs, such as lithium, used in the treatment of bipolar disorder.

The device’s very strong magnetic field will allow identifying the brain structures targeted by lithium in patients and distinguish between those who respond more or less well to treatment.

“If we understand these high-impact diseases better, we should be able to diagnose them earlier and treat them better,” says Etienvre.

Iseult will remain dedicated to fundamental research for many years. “The device is not intended to become a clinical diagnostic tool, but we hope that the knowledge gained can then be applied in hospitals,” emphasizes Nicolas Boulant.

New healthy volunteers should be recruited by the end of summer. The brains of sick patients, on the other hand, won’t be studied until years from now.